Positive outlook?
A positive outlook for media? Maybe.
David H. Dean wrote an interesting article on Trender Research, voicing a positive outlook for media, among other things. I agree for the most part, but I think he may be missing some key obstacles.
He points out that the micro-media producers have no set infrastructure to protect, no “sacred cows.” My words, not his. And he’s right. The overall cost of producing content is lower, the number of outlets is growing. What is he missing?
Try using a “microphone.”
Ok, here’s where you can flame me. Most of the material that micro-media producers are putting out is, well...junk. The new media channels; YouTube, Vimeo and alike, are, as a colleague used to say “a firehouse of crap”. “Who cares” content that has yet to break out into a profitable stream of distribution.Then there is the vast array of just bad production. Sorry, but no, not everyone can produce a good video and it’s an insulting thought to those that can. The early site of Current.tv, as it was called then, had great online tutorials on how to frame a shot, how to do better audio, lighting. Very well done mini-class’ that were, unfortunately, removed when Current changed focus. I tried to find it using the Way Back Machine, but it seems that data is missing. To me, a business to be in is basic video lessons just to make things watchable. Contact me if you want to talk about that!
“I have 200 channels of junk!”
One other point Mr. Dean makes is that the big media companies have the most to lose. Of course. That holds true in all industries. As such, those big media companies will hang on to status quo as long as they can As a result, the mass distribution channels, the channels needed to make a venture profitable, will continue to be blocked. As profit-failing channels go away, they are not being replaced by new-idea-micro media producers, but by the same owners that ran the failed channel in the first place. Discovery, Comcast, all will repurpose those channels, not give them up. This will continue to be the biggest obstacle to innovation.
I am optimistic about the outlook as well, but I think there will continue to be obstacles that slow down the progress. It’s big business, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.
He points out that the micro-media producers have no set infrastructure to protect, no “sacred cows.” My words, not his. And he’s right. The overall cost of producing content is lower, the number of outlets is growing. What is he missing?
Try using a “microphone.”
Ok, here’s where you can flame me. Most of the material that micro-media producers are putting out is, well...junk. The new media channels; YouTube, Vimeo and alike, are, as a colleague used to say “a firehouse of crap”. “Who cares” content that has yet to break out into a profitable stream of distribution.Then there is the vast array of just bad production. Sorry, but no, not everyone can produce a good video and it’s an insulting thought to those that can. The early site of Current.tv, as it was called then, had great online tutorials on how to frame a shot, how to do better audio, lighting. Very well done mini-class’ that were, unfortunately, removed when Current changed focus. I tried to find it using the Way Back Machine, but it seems that data is missing. To me, a business to be in is basic video lessons just to make things watchable. Contact me if you want to talk about that!
“I have 200 channels of junk!”
One other point Mr. Dean makes is that the big media companies have the most to lose. Of course. That holds true in all industries. As such, those big media companies will hang on to status quo as long as they can As a result, the mass distribution channels, the channels needed to make a venture profitable, will continue to be blocked. As profit-failing channels go away, they are not being replaced by new-idea-micro media producers, but by the same owners that ran the failed channel in the first place. Discovery, Comcast, all will repurpose those channels, not give them up. This will continue to be the biggest obstacle to innovation.
I am optimistic about the outlook as well, but I think there will continue to be obstacles that slow down the progress. It’s big business, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.